Tāmaki Makaurau-based alternative R&B/rap artist Luke-W (Luke Winny) returns with his sophomore album, a 14-track concept release in the sense that it’s framed as an emotional reflective letter back to his 21-year old self.
After losing his mother, aunt, grandfather and uncle within the span of four years, Luke-W spent two years in Bristol, England, intent on pursuing music while chasing something he couldn’t yet name. Returning to NZ he subsequently released an EP, followed with an album titled ‘Close as Ever’ in 2022.
Coming 10 years after that journey started, ‘Yesterday, When Everything Was Temporary’ is built around deep and emotional writing. Producer Andrew Meyer shaped the sonic world on all but one of the tracks with production that’s largely synth-driven, but the centre of album is no doubt the storytelling.
The album’s lead single Casually, blends upbeat synths, kicks and hi-hats to create a sound reminiscent of a classic hip hop intro. Combining with these conventions the melodic vocals of Luke-W create an insistent tempo through the entire track. The well-layered instrumentation alongside the melodic synth lines weave through the rhythm sections in support of the vocals.
Despite a buoyant, coming of age energy that would sit comfortably in a blockbuster film soundtrack, Casually carries a quieter weight. It’s about the moment the freedom of a casual relationship starts to feel hollow. The production flatters the contradiction; it sounds like confidence, but it’s about someone who can’t fully commit.
In Luke-W’s own words, Party Alone which comes right after, is the apology Casually refuses to make. Distorted vocals create a textural shift from the crisp clarity of previous tracks on the album, creating a sense of disorientation that mirrors the song’s emotional background, caught between euphoria and isolation. After the distortion clears the melodic vocals more familiar across the album is introduced, the production is dense but controlled, with a broad blend of instrumentation that fills the space without crowding Luke-W’s rich voice.
The most striking moment comes at the end when for roughly five seconds all music elements cease, replaced by the ambient sounds of a party – laughter, voices, background noise, then silence. It’s a small but precise creative decision, one that literalizes the song’s central image of being surrounded by people you cannot feel.
Other Lives marks what Luke-W describes as the turning point of the record. Futuristic synth sounds play for a few bars before the vocals arrive, moving into a slower tempo along with the kicks and hi-hats carrying a deliberate, measured pulse, to produce the album’s clearest statement of the genre it occupies. The alternative R&B texture here is distinct, reflective of how the genre has evolved and expanded over recent years.
‘You were on the same street standing here before me,’ is the first line delivered, and it lands immediately. Other Lives is about Luke-W moving to Bristol because his mother had lived there earlier in her life, and the shame of feeling like he wasn’t living up to the life she led. The futuristic production sits against that backward-looking grief in an interesting tension, and it’s in that contrast, between what was lost and what’s still being built that the song finds its resolution.
‘Yesterday, When Everything Was Temporary’ proves itself to be a clever, carefully constructed album, along with its synth-based production and Luke-W’s expansive and reflective storytelling
Launched in tandem with an exhibition of art based on six of the tracks, the album debuted in June exclusively via Bandcamp, encouraging the early audience to have an immersive experience, witnessing the music and accompanying art as a body of work – with more singles and release on streaming platforms to follow.
